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Wasteland Diaries: A fond farewell
Fallen Earth's Alpha County: the first installment of Sector 4 is here at long last. There was a time when the place was considered a myth by many wastelanders, but it has finally become a reality. If you want to see what it has in store, check it out for yourself. It's very likely that's what I'm currently doing. Since the patch date got pushed back a day, I wasn't able to do a piece on my first impressions of the new zone. Maybe I'll handle that next week. I've instead decided to do a retrospective on what I am leaving behind in Fallen Earth, a fond farewell to some of the things that will no longer matter. There are a great many things I will miss as I cross over into S4, and there will be a great many things I won't miss. As a creature of habit, I fear change, but I'm trying to be as optimistic as possible. With that in mind, after the cut, I'll try to concentrate on some of the changes that I'll be pleased about.
Wasteland Diaries: RP-PvP
In Fallen Earth, I spend most of my time PvPing. Well, actually, I probably spend most of my time waiting or preparing to PvP. I engage in PvE content out of necessity. In order to be effective in PvP, one needs levels and chips and gear. If this stuff could be earned through PvP alone, then that's all I would ever do. The situation has gotten better with the FCP rewards and XP for PvP, but it still isn't really enough. The other prominent playstyle in Fallen Earth, one I usually shy away from, is roleplaying. Some people will never do it, and some people are always in character. Most of us fall somewhere in between. This week I dipped my toe into the RP field. I would normally never decide to attend a roleplaying event, but lately I've been trying to broaden my horizons. Knowing there was a possibility of some PvP action solidified my decision to head down to New Flagstaff for Rowdy's Bunker of Blues. This is an event held every Wednesday night at the bunker bar by the pond in the center of the city. There was a live DJ and free drinks (plus the aforementioned possibility of a fight), so why not? After the cut, I'll describe what happened there and how I did when I threw my hat into the RP arena.
Wasteland Diaries: Car wars
Lately, I've been doing a lot of crafting in Fallen Earth. I have a lot of materials stockpiled, and it seems they are just taking up space. So I've been putting together some vehicles (Interceptor Speedsters, to be precise). They take about four days each to make; that's in real time, mind you. There isn't much of a demand for them right now. In fact, they sell very inexpensively on the auction house. I'm not really sure what I'm going to do with them, but I guess it can't hurt to have a couple on hand. Fallen Earth is unique in the sense that you can't purchase a mount from a vendor NPC. You can get them from the rewards merchant or buy them from the Fallen Earth store, but the usual method of acquiring one is to craft it or buy it from the auction house. Some are even quest rewards. But the majority of the mounts out there are provided by the playerbase. In this post, I'll look at the evolution of vehicular combat in Fallen Earth and what we might hope and expect to see in the future. So put the pedal to the metal and zip past the cut for more.
Wasteland Diaries: Bosses and battles
This week in Fallen Earth has been, for me, a good mix of PvP and PvE action. I've gotten plenty of both. I literally wished that I had more time to play. Alas, real life was standing in the way again. I haven't played any other games all week. Unless you consider the Fallen Earth forums a game (which I sometimes do). Between protecting territory that rightfully belongs to the CHOTA and cracking the skulls of world bosses for their precious volatile chemicals, I've found myself pretty busy. I know that everyone feels that Sector 4 is long overdue; it's probably the reason most people haven't come back to Fallen Earth. If you are on the fence about re-subbing or are waiting for Sector 4, there is still plenty to do, especially if you left before Deadfall Point and Deadfall were released. Even if you left in the past couple of months, things have changed, and new content has been added. There is plenty of PvP action if you know where to look, and new faces are joining the fray every day. After the cut, I'll give you some examples of what I've experienced this week, and it may help you decide to come back... or to keep holding out for Sector 4.
Wasteland Diaries: To-do list
You would think that someone who had four characters that have been sitting at the level cap for months would be out of things to do. It's simply not so. I have plenty to do, and much of it isn't even directly related to PvP. I have been keeping myself quite busy in Fallen Earth, especially since I have been in-game so little these past few weeks. The time I have been logged in has been well spent. A lot of my time is spent crafting consumables like food, drinks and medicine to support the PvPing, but thanks to the magic of offline crafting, it doesn't matter. Most of it takes place while I sleep. It's the chips and materials that require interaction on my part. By saying I'm staying busy, I'm not referring to the new "golden age" of PvP revival we are currently experiencing in and around Haietta (and even Park City, to some degree). I'll spare everyone the PvP-oriented post this week and concentrate on some of the more carebearish things I've been doing lately. So if you are thinking about coming back, or you're wondering what else to do once you hit level 50, maybe this post will give you some idea of what you could be doing. After the cut I'll let you know what I've been up to in Fallen Earth when the PvP is waning.
Wasteland Diaries: Patch day mayhem
In Fallen Earth, patch day is always a happy day (for me, at least). But this most recent patch (1.7.4) brings in some sweeping changes. The changes that came with this patch were far-reaching enough to get us another full respec. I don't forsee myself using one yet, but they are nice to have. I actually still have my injectors that we got with the 1.4 patch. In fact, this patch changes so much that I spent the past couple of days preparing (in-game) for it. I haven't had time to even grab all of the new skills that all of my clones will now have available to them. An Enforcer rifleman with Fitness? Yes, among other things. Everyone in Fallen Earth now has more health, but it gets taken away much faster. Combat seems more intuitive with reliable damage from weapons. Without glances and extreme damage variance, combat feels crisper and less clunky. It's going to take some getting used to. The PvE combat has changed the most. There is actually an element of danger involved when fighting mobs, especially large groups. I find myself actually using contingencies and heals during combat with NPCs. I never really had to before, but now the mobs rarely miss (rather than rarely hit). While I didn't get to see everything we got with this patch, I did get some hands-on PvP action (and broke a tradition that had lasted some 292 days in-game) under the new system. I'll give up more about that after the cut.
Wasteland Diaries: A brief history
Fallen Earth has a relatively short history, as far as the power struggles on the server. Yes, in case you didn't know it, Fallen Earth is a single-server game. Everything I'll discuss in this post occurred on that single shard. The power struggles in the wastelands, be they between factions or clans, have been ever-changing. It seems that no one group retains power for very long. They say that history is written by the victors. And they could be right, but since we lack clear winners, I'll write it. There isn't really a way to assert dominance in Fallen Earth in any kind of overt way. But there are subtleties that player groups can control. In some cases, they can even hold a resource with which to extort the playerbase. In the future we may see a true struggle for resources in an apocalyptic wasteland, but for now we will have to be content with simply crushing our enemies. After the break I'll chronicle the past year or so and outline how the power struggle evolved through that time period. Not everyone will agree with my perception of the events, but I'll do the best I can to remain unbiased.
Apple Store Park City, Lancaster PA: Photos from opening day
It's a fine Saturday for a new Apple Store -- in fact, it's a fine day for five of them, ranging from the mighty Pacific to the towering Rockies, from the fruited hills of Pennsylvania to the verdant valleys of Northern Ireland. [Dial it back there, Woody Guthrie. – Ed.] Even as most economic indicators suggest a surging market in canned goods and clothing made from barrels, Apple is merrily investing in more retail outlets.Fresh from the opening of the Park City Apple Store in Lancaster, PA, reader Jonathan Ober sent in his photos of the festivities; you can review all the fun in the gallery below. Did you visit one of the other store openings today? Shoot us a quick tip with a link to your photos or stories and we'll share them with the world.Another note for anyone visiting the stores this weekend: I noticed at the 14th Street store in New York City yesterday that the new iPod nanos ($149/$199 US) were paired up in demo stations with the Bose QuietComfort 3 noise-cancelling headphones ($350 US).While the sound quality was extraordinary, and the noise-suppression effect quite noticeable on the loud 2nd floor of the store, I have to think that using a pair of cans that costs 2x as much as the iPod isn't really fair to consumers, who are going to be a little disappointed with the bundled headphones after that experience. Are the Bose high-end 'phones ubiquitous in all stores with the nanos, or just in NYC? If you're shopping for a new iPod, do you bring your own headphones along to try it out? Just wondering... let us know below.%Gallery-32342%
Five new Apple retail stores open Saturday
Apple is opening its fifth retail location in San Diego county at Westfield North County Fair in Escondido this Saturday at 10 a.m. The Apple Store is centrally located in the mall on the middle level across from Nordstrom. Opening the same day at 9 a.m. is an Apple Store for Lancaster, PA at the Park City Center. There, the Apple Store is located next to The Bonton and The Gap. Colorado Springs, CO is also getting an Apple Store at The Promenade Shops at Briargate. It opens at 10 a.m., and is located next to Pier 1 Imports on the west side of the mall. (Bonus typo on the map page.) The bay area gets another location in San Mateo, at the Hillsdale Shopping Center. It also opens at 10, and is located next to Guess and the Lego Store. And to top it all off, the first Apple Store in Northern Ireland -- at Victoria Square in Belfast -- will be throwing open its doors at 9 a.m. The Apple Store is located on the Upper Ground Floor. All times are local. All five grand openings will feature t-shirts for the first thousand customers, and probably lots of high-fives and yelling. Thanks, Toby, Ross, and Jonathan!
Lancaster mall to get Apple store in fall
Is it strange to feel affectionate towards a shopping mall? While I didn't visit Park City in Lancaster, PA as a kid, I still have a sense of it being "my mall" -- my wife grew up in Lancaster, and I think over the years I've absorbed some of her connection to the place. Retail nostalgia by spousal proxy? I'll have to check for that in the DSM-IV. Now, with confirmation that an Apple Store is heading for Park City (initially reported by ifoAppleStore in April), I'm struck by this odd sense of pride mixed with relief. Pride, because my adopted mall is getting its own Apple Store at last; relief, because now I can dispatch my father-in-law somewhere closer to home when he needs hardware help. Maybe I should visit the Genius Bar there and leave them a photograph and an system profile, just in case. LancasterOnline.com reports that the store will occupy a 4,900-square-foot slot in the mall, and it's expected to open by late October 2008. I hope that the presence of the new store will validate and enhance business at Lancaster's indie Mac dealership Macheads, but I fear that they may find business slipping over to the new shop over time. Thanks, CR!
